1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless local area networks, and more particularly, to a system and method for wireless local area network airtime fairness.
2. Introduction
Wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computing devices continue to proliferate, adding to the total number of mobile devices that seek pervasive Wi-Fi connectivity. The rapid introduction of advancing apps and Internet use on these mobile devices adds to the challenge of network support in an enterprise environment. In particular, enterprises are faced with significant challenges in identifying best practices in their build out of their wireless local area network (LAN) environment.
Wireless LAN technology continues to evolve as wireless connection speeds advance. Wireless networks must therefore be configured to support multiple device types, including legacy 802.11 a/b/g devices, current 802.11n devices that enable greater than 100 Mbit/s speeds, and future 802.11AC devices that enable greater than 1 Gbit/s speeds. The upper limit of such wireless LAN connections will continue to advance, therefore placing an increased burden on wireless LAN networks in providing sufficient support over a defined geography and a mix of wireless devices.
Enterprises need to develop an appropriate strategy for building and maintaining their wireless LAN environment. As more wireless-only devices hit the market and more individuals bring these devices into the enterprise environment, the premium on such planning will only increase. Without a suitable wireless LAN strategy, an enterprise's existing network deployment will be overwhelmed to the point of producing unsatisfactory network performance.
The trend in this area indicates that Wi-Fi technologies will be increasingly relied upon as cellular networks become overburdened. As it stands today, cellular network operators are placing ever-increasing premiums on the data rates charged to the mobile devices.